Learning what you can ask Siri is essential to getting the most out of your iPhone. For instance, did you know there are several Siri commands that can find and open Apps on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV? It’s much faster than manually searching yourself.
See the most common questions answered in the FAQ section, or view the complete list of App commands under Keeping Up With Siri in the table of contents below.
FAQ
Can Siri open Apps?
Yes. Siri can open Apps that you have installed on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. Check out this command.
Can Siri close Apps?
No. Siri cannot close an App that you have opened on your device.
Can Siri download Apps?
No, not exactly. You can use Siri to search the App Store for a specific App. Siri will get you all the way to the landing page. But you need to click the “get” button to download it.
Keeping Up With Siri
Want to learn all 366 commands you can ask Siri to do? You’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Keeping Up With Siri. For this post, I’ll cover all the commands Siri responds to within the Apps section. This area focuses on using Siri to open and search for Apps across the Apple ecosystem. Given this category is the second stop on Apple’s guide, it’s likely these Siri capabilities are the most used and helpful for all iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users.
Let’s get started.
Apps Commands
These commands are some of the most underrated Siri commands. Can’t find an App icon? Use Siri instead and save yourself some time.
“Hey Siri, launch Photos”
With this command, Siri launches the App “Photos.” I highly recommend you to use this command! It’s one of the most useful commands Siri provides, especially on iPhone or iPad. Don’t spend time searching for App icons.
“Hey Siri, play Angry Birds 2”
Siri isn’t limited to opening only Apple’s App. Any App on your device is fair game.
Also, it’s worth noting this reference is pretty old. Do people still play Angry Birds 2? There’s even a Angry Birds 2 movie at this point. I lost count of the number of Angry Bird games years ago. This part of the guide will likely be updated by Apple in the upcoming release.
Searching for Apps
Siri can search the App Store for you. These commands will cut down your typing and filtering in the App Store.
“Hey Siri, get the Pinterest App”
This is another really useful command. If you know what App you want to pull up, simply use this command to go straight to the App page in the App Store. In this example, we search for the Pinterest App. Siri responds with: “OK, searching for Pinterest on the App Store….” You’ll then get redirected to the App Store and will see something like this:
“Hey Siri, search the App Store for cooking Apps”
When you use this command, this is what Siri gives you:
With this command, Apple highlights the ability to look at categories in the App Store. But this capability isn’t as useful as looking up Apps directly. If you want to look at a category in the App Store, you’re more or less browsing the App Store. In that case, it’s best to leave Siri out of it.
Check out what else you can do with Apple’s Voice Assistant in Keeping Up With Siri Commands. In this series, I list the complete lineup of Siri capabilities.